Ratings & Reviews

No surprises here: wartime Rally Round the Flag, Boys! pic follows a group of whining recruits as they inevitably become tough, battle-ready soldiers Britain can be proud of. What it's got going for it is its characterizations, its handsome photography, and a couple of cracking action sequences. Peter Ustinov, who co-wrote the script, is amusingly cast as an Arab cafe owner whose lines are all in French.

Propaganda movie, yes, but written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov and directed by Carol Reed so it has to be different. And it is. In short, the British soldier must not be confused with the American or the French soldier and his commanding officers are human. In this respect, David Niven's performance here is absolutely great, Also note that, The Way Ahead, seems to be the first WWII movie without any casualties.